The challenge

Hayden Thompson was referred to Motiv-8 in October 2021 to join a programme supporting 18-24 year olds in Cornwall looking for employment, training and further education. The Compass programme is funded by the European Social Fund and managed and supported by CSW Group.

Hayden lives independently but has support from carers as he is on the autistic spectrum. He struggles with his self-confidence and this makes discovering employment opportunities a real challenge. Whilst Hayden recognised that a traditional training and employment pathway was unlikely to cater for his needs, he was extremely keen to undertake training in an area that interests him, which we discovered were many and varied.

 The real challenge was to obtain the correct level of support and which area of employment to focus on. His lack of self-confidence meant he had little knowledge of his employment options or opportunities. Whilst he recognised that a traditional training and employment pathway was unlikely to cater for his needs, Hayden was extremely keen to undertake training in an area that interests him, and we discovered through our session together he has many and varied interests.

What we did

During December 2021 and January 2022, the Motiv-8 Coach worked closely with Hayden to determine which direction to follow. Hayden really enjoys repairing all sorts of things, and so we arranged a session at The Repair Café which he thoroughly enjoyed and this helped to reinforce his desire become more involved in repairing things.

To develop his self-confidence, peer-to-peer support was arranged with another participant who lived locally, this helped them both to develop and focus on their futures. Further discussions at his monthly reviews then uncovered a real passion for bikes and our Coach explored options to bring the two together.

The outcome

We identified and arranged support through a local, community organisation, Life ReCycle Ltd.

Hayden and our Coach attended a meeting with them and a place on their ‘Build A Bike’ programme was put forward as the most appropriate for Hayden’s needs. After waiting for a space to become available, Hayden started this course during May 2022 and is making great progress.

The costs of the programme were met in combination with the European Social Funded Compass programme and some contributions from the Prince’s Trust.

Hayden has found real inspiration as he follows his passion, has worked hard to define his aims and now wants to set up his own Bike Repair business on a self-employed basis.

To achieve this, his next step is a professional qualification with Cycle Systems Academy where he will attend a residential course in Newton Abbot for 2 weeks. Hayden’s confidence has grown significantly as he would not have contemplated this before. We aim to keep supporting Hayden to secure funding for him to attend this course, something he wasn’t aware of and would have been unable to access without the support of the European Social Funding and the Compass programme.

To find out more please get in touch.